16 Things Most Preppers Forget About

In todays article, I am going to speak about things preppers forget about!

Lets Imagine…

It has happened, that event you have been preparing for all these years! Lucky you have your emergency supplies at hand and are ready to ride it out.

But, do you really have all the essentials? Are You sure?

This isn’t as simple as running down to the shop last minute to buy the items you have forgotten about, they will be gone, long ago. It’s vital to have all your supplies gathered up now, before an event!

It doesn’t matter how much experience in preparedness or survival you have, you nearly always forget about something, and that something is usually pretty important.

I am going to assume you have already gathered up the obvious essential items such as first aid kits, food and water, cash, water purification methods, a good knife, torch and the rest of the items preppers tend to love talking about.

This article will focus on the less obvious things preppers forget about, which are essential and will be used heavily in a grid down situation.

Underwear and Clothes

You wear them everyday, yet, lots of preppers actually forget about underwear and general clothing items when building up their preps. Having some new underwear, such as heavy socks, light weight socks, and boxers won’t go a miss if SHTF. Given a situation that may result in a long term grid down, it’s not going to be that simple to source new underwear if yours gets worn and holy, remember, everyone will be on the same boat here.

Having some hard wearing jeans, or tactical trousers, a few jackets, jumpers and waterproof clothing will also be a great addition to your prep list, you never know when you are going to have to go out in the rain, or brave the cold weather. Gloves wouldn’t go a miss either.

Good Walking Boots

A good pair of walking boots will make things a lot easier

If there is a long term grid down, getting hold of a pair of boots may not be that easy. You may have to walk for miles to forage for food, hunt or fish, gather fire wood, or whatever other reason, so having a spare pair of good waterproof walking boots is essential. You will need to take care of your feet, as they will be an important tool for survival.

Just like clothes, shoes tend to wear out with heavy usage. There is nothing worse than having leaking boots, and getting wet feet.

Emergency Dental Kit

While it seems kind of obvious to stock up on first aid supplies, many preppers forget about emergency dental repair kits. Even a lot of hardcore preppers have not included these in their emergency kits. If you have ever had a filling come out, you will know how sore it can be!

Having a dental emergency kit in your preps is vital. A sore tooth can lead to a sore head, lack of sleep, the inability to eat solid foods, and you may not be able to think clearly due to pain and insomnia.

To build an emergency dental kit, you will need a few different items:

The total cost of this kind of kit comes to around £20-£25, depending on the items you choose to buy.

If you had a toothache, or filling come out, and where in severe pain, would you pay £25 right away to have it fixed? Of course you would!

Bicycle

A bicycle will be an invaluable mode of transport

You might have your car in tip top condition, with spare parts stocked up on, and reserve fuel stored, but some day, that will run out, or something will break on your car that you are not able to fix yourself.

Get a bicycle just incase!

I am all about preparing for the unexpected, so I am prepared for my car breaking down past the point where I cannot fix it, or running out of stored fuel. Having a bicycle with a pannier rack is a great way for hauling water, tools, or anything else that fits. It’s also a lot quicker than walking.

Udder-mint

This is one you have probably never heard of before. Uddermint is peppermint cream used by farmers to treat cows during calving and with mastitis. It is stronger than the regular peppermint cream you would buy in a health shop, and so is more effective.

This stuff is great for migraines, cold hands, arthritis, aches and pains, the cold, you name it, I have used it for it.

It’s not that expensive, and so I recommend buying a tube to have around.

Basic Hygiene

Do you have enough to keep yourself clean?

These are the products we use everyday without thinking, and thats what makes them so easy to forget about. I am guilty myself of forgetting to have some of these items stocked up on.

These are the items you use everyday, and although brushing your teeth or taking a bath might not be the first thing on your mind if there is a grid down situation, I always find when I am clean and refreshed, I feel so much better.

Having plenty of toilet roll, kitchen roll and other disposable items is always a good idea, you don’t know how long the grid may be down for, so having something to wipe up spills, and wipe you ass with is a great idea, unless you fancy using leaves.

All of the above items will be very hard to get the hold of during an emergency, as everyone will be looking for them!

Maps

Having hardcopy maps will be a lifesaver!

Today, everyone is accustomed to pulling up Google Maps on their phone and getting directions. When society goes down the drain, for whatever reason, be it a Influenza Pandemic, or Solar Flare, technology will soon follow, and with that, access to Google Maps, the internet, and other electronic sources of information will soon become unavailable.

Remember to grab hardcopy maps of you surrounding area, towns and countryside. In a grid down situation, these will be invaluable. It is advisable to keep one in your bug out bag. While you have access to the internet, take time to do your research online, find edible plants in your area, and mark the location of said plants on your hard copy map for future reference.

Remember, a map isn’t too much use without a good quality compass.

Water Transport

You may already know where your source of water is, and how you are going to extract it from that source, but do you know how you are going to get it back to your home or bug out location without using all your energy?

A wheelbarrow or some form of wagon will be invaluable for transporting large containers of water back to your location. Save yourself a lot of hard ache, and invest in a decent wheelbarrow now!

Gun Care Kit

A Good Gun Care Kit is Essential

I see preppers stock up on ammo and guns, but most preppers forget about a gun care kit. A gun needs to be looked after in order to keep operating. I own a shotgun, and know for a fact that if I do not maintain it, it will start to jam after some time due to the build up of carbon inside the chamber.

Knife Sharpening Kit

Preppers and survivalists love knives. I love knives, I have that many knives I have lost count. One thing I did not have, up until recently was a quality knife sharpening kit, and I see many other preppers forget about this. These do take some time to learn how to use, but, if you enjoy knives, you will enjoy putting a razor sharp edge on them.

During a survival situation, your knife may be getting worked a lot, from cutting and splitting wood for a fire, to skinning game. It is essential to ensure that you keep your knife in tip top condition, and to do this, you must have a sharpening kit.

The above products will sharpen any knife, I have done some research, and contacted a bushcraft company for advise on which products are best suited for sharpening multiple styles of knife blades, and those are what they advised me to buy.

Washing and Drying Clothes

This is not really an item a prepper forgets, more, something you may forget to plan for. Do you know how you will wash and dry your clothes if there is a long term grid down?

I hate wearing damp, dirty clothes. Think about it. You may be out foraging for food, trip and fall into a muddy patch in a field, or just get rained on. Having a means to clean and dry your clothes will be essential.

Something as simple as a large bucket and some laundry detergent will be suffice for washing up, and a small stove to burn some wood in to provide heat to dry your clothes would be great.

Important Documents

Even though the grid is down, you will still need to have some form of identification, and copies of all you important documents such as passports, driving licenses, home insurance policies and so on. Make sure you have hard copies of these stored in waterproof bags, in your bug out bag, and in a safe in your home.

Hardcopy Photos

In todays world, everything is either stored on the cloud, or on your hard drive. If the grid went down, and you could not access these, how would you feel? I know I would hate to loose all my pictures. That’s why it is important to have a hard copy of the photos that mean the most to you. Storing these in a waterproof bag with your documents is a wise idea.

Sewing Kit

Having a way to repair ripped clothes will be invaluable come a grid down. Knowing how to sew, and repair your own clothes is a skill I recommend you learn, it’s not hard to do, but having some prior experience will be of benefit.

Long Term Lighting

I bet most preppers have loads of torches, myself included. But, what about long term?

If you have a generator, great, or if you can generate power using your car, that’s great also, but, remember, these methods rely on fuel, when that fuel runs out, what are your going to do?

Having an alternate means to generate electric to charge batteries, and provide some power for your home will be a luxury in a grid down situation. Plan now, and invest in a solar charger, or even build your own wind turbine. I plan on doing this in the near future.

Make sure you have some candles and spare light bulbs lying around the house too. Ikea sell 4 hour burn tea light candles, and 9 hour burn candles, and they are cheap as chips!

Survival Books

Unless you are a trained expert, and know how to identify edible plants, how to setup survival shelters, trained in self defence and so on, then I would highly advise investing in a book with edible plants for your area, and practical survival knowledge. You will be able to safely identify plants that you can eat, without any risky guesswork, and learn how to build survival shelters, practise first aid, and much more.